ISKL: First Recipient of Green Flag Award of Eco-Schools Malaysia

Posted on 22 August 2013

The group photo with ISKL's Green Council, Earth Club and Student Committee (StuCo) executive members, staff of ISKL and WWF-Malaysia together with Dr. Norma J. Hudson, Head of School (6th from right) and Dato' Dr. Dionysius S.K. Sharma, ED/CEO WWF-Malaysia (4th from right)

21 August 2013, Petaling Jaya: International School Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) today became the first recipient of the Green Flag Award of the Eco-Schools Programme Malaysia.

The Green Flag Award is a prestigious, internationally recognized and respected eco-label of high performance for schools with the best environmental education and management practices.

“We applaud ISKL for being the first recipient of the Green Flag Award in Malaysia. This speaks volumes of the initiatives the school has taken in inculcating environmental values and practices among its students to make environmental sustainability an integral part of the school’s life,” said WWF-Malaysia’s Executive Director/CEO, Dato’ Dr Dionysius Sharma.

WWF-Malaysia is the national coordinator of the programme in Malaysia. Since its inception in 2011, 43 schools have registered to participate in the programme.

Dr Dionysius, who presented the Award to ISKL’s Green Council members, Deanna Anuar and Tunku Alysha Azizan, said ISKL’s participation in the Eco-Schools Programme has far-reaching effect.

“When students involve themselves in the programme, there will be behavioural change in them, and those connected to them. These good habits, in relation to environmental conservation, will inevitably be followed through into their homes and communities,” he added.

Dr Dionysius said this aligned very well with WWF’s mission to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. “What better way to achieve this than to engage students in the Eco-Schools Programme to be part of our mission,” he said.

One of the major emphasis of the programme is the concept of student empowerment, where the students are the agents of change in making daily decisions on environmental conservation efforts in the school.

Since joining the programme in 2011, the students of ISKL have continuously demonstrated commendable efforts in several environmental themes such as waste/litter management, healthy living, and transport/sustainable mobility in relation to low carbon offset during their local and international travels.

Laurence Myers, ISKL’s Sustainability and Service Learning Coordinator, said since ISKL is deeply involved in environmental education and sustainability , Eco-Schools Programme provides them with the perfect format. “The greatest part of our partnership with Eco-Schools Programme Malaysia is that the programme provides us with a framework that we can use to move forward in everything we do,” he said.

Upon receiving the award, the Green Flag can be displayed in the school’s foyer or hall or on a flagpole. The school will also be awarded a certificate and the permission to use the official Eco-School logo on its letterhead and other school materials.

The Green Flag Award remains valid for two years after which the recipient would need to reapply to renew the award by substantiating how previous achievements were sustained and new improvements made.

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About Eco-Schools Programme
At the international level, the programme is run by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), a non-governmental and non-profit organization aiming to promote sustainable development through environmental education (including formal school education, training of staff and general awareness-raising). It is an international umbrella organisation with one national member organisation per country representing FEE on the national level and in charge of implementing FEE programmes nationally. It has 66 member organisations in 58 countries around the world.

In Malaysia, WWF-Malaysia is the national coordinator of the programme, which started in 2010. The first school to register for the Eco-Schools Programme in Malaysia was Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Lanchang in March 2011. Since then, the Programme has grown from strength to strength, and more than 40 schools in Malaysia have now embarked on the Eco-Schools Programme journey. Click here for information on Eco-Schools Programme

The group photo with ISKL's Green Council, Earth Club and Student Committee (StuCo) executive members, staff of ISKL and WWF-Malaysia together with Dr. Norma J. Hudson, Head of School (6th from right) and Dato' Dr. Dionysius S.K. Sharma, ED/CEO WWF-Malaysia (4th from right)

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